From No Show To Let’s Go! How 1 Viral Video Saved A Dad’s Restaurant From Closing.

two-photo collage. on the left there is a screenshot of nico cardenas excited to start his workday at the restaurant. on the right there is a picture of nico sitting in one of the tables looking sad because no customers showed up.

It is no secret that small businesses were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, even forcing hundreds of them to make the difficult decision to close their doors forever.

After serving his community for almost 10 years, Nico Cardenas, the owner of Nico’s Mexican Restaurant in Salt Lake City, Utah, also found himself on the verge of making this hard decision for his restaurant.

“I see him really stressed all the time,” said Nico’s son. “Not sad, but you can tell he’s trying to hide it.”

Nico’s son, Carlos, could not bear seeing his dad struggle, so he decided to do something to save his dad’s restaurant — he turned to the power of social media!

In hopes of attracting some customers, Carlos posted a video on TikTok where he shows his dad putting on his apron and showing the best attitude to start his workday at the restaurant. After this video, Carlos includes another short clip of the empty restaurant explaining that they did not get any customers on that day.

@clumzycarlos he looks so stressed😭😭 if you live in utah, make sure to check out my dad’s restaurant sometime! It’s called Nico’s Restaurant 😁😁 #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #viral #sad #restaurant #smallbusiness #relatable #mexican #mexicantiktok #mexicanrestaurant #utah ♬ sonido original – :’)

But social media worked its magic and thousands of TikTok users begin to like and comment on Carlos’ video!

Can you guess what happened next? Yes, you guessed that right! Nico’s Restaurant started getting dozens of customers that had seen the video on TikTok.

Carlos mentioned that his dad used to be skeptical about social media, but the amazing outcome from this video definitely made him reconsider. The restaurant now has its own TikTok account!

“My dad was blown away with the amount of support he got from TikTok!” Carlos wrote on a different TikTok video.

@clumzycarlos My dad was blown away with the amount of support he got from TikTok! If you guys want to support and continue watching this journey of my dad’s restaurant, I made him a TikTok account where we will post a lot of his food and anything else related to his restaurant! His TikTok is @nicosrestaurant ♬ She Share Story (for Vlog) – 山口夕依

This story is a great reminder of the positive impact of social media and the power it has to bring a community together.

We are so glad Nico’s Restaurant gets to keep its doors open. Oh, and next time we are in Salt Lake City craving some tacos, we know where we’ll go!

Share this story to help bring awareness to the importance of supporting local businesses.

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